The Delhi government on Thursday appealed before a Delhi High Court division bench over the disagreement on the nursery admission norms. As per the government, the order passed by the single judge was “totally wrong”, “erroneous” and “against the law” and should be set aside.

On February 15, the court held that the January 7 notification, issued by Delhi government, was “prima facie arbitrary and discriminatory”. The government notification mandated that schools either don’t refuse admission to children living within 1 km of the school, or fill at least 75 per cent of the seats with candidates from the neighbourhood. The notification covered 298 schools, which received land from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

The government’s appeal is likely to be taken up today.

As per the notification, if any seat remained vacant after admitting students from within 1 km, children living between 1 and 3 km of the school would be given priority. One of the petitioners, Forum for Promotion of Quality Education for All, argued that under the current laws, all private schools fall under the same category, so the state government cannot single out 298 schools.

The Delhi Court order had come due to several petitions filed by parents and two school groups challenging the Delhi government’s December 19, 2016 and January 7 notifications.